About Ram Mashru

Ram Mashru is an international affairs consultant, writer and researcher specializing in the rights, development and security of South Asia. He is the author of Human InSecurity: Fear, Deprivation and Abuse in India (2013) and has contributed research and commentary to Amnesty International and Foreign Policy magazine, among others. He tweets @RamMashru.

Some say
that Aseem Trivedi, the satirical cartoonist imprisoned in India this September,
set himself up to achieve very little by highlighting an already deep rooted
problem. But Trivedi’s real victory may be to have uncovered how
India’s antiquated sedition laws are silencing democratic dissent

In India, the concept of civil society is only a nascent one, but the authorities already view it with suspicion. Behind the 'biggest democracy in the world' façade, the lives of activists, journalists and academics who dare to challenge official policies are made increasingly difficult. The future of India's emerging civil society is uncertain.